Caps reassign Andrew Gordon and Keith Aucoin to Hershey

The Capitals announced that they have reassigned right wing Andrew Gordon and center Keith Aucoin to the AHL's Hershey Bears. Last night, Gordon broke the news of the move himself on Twitter.

Gordon was recalled on Dec. 15 and played in all seven of the Capitals' games since, recording his first NHL goal during the stint in Washington with a tally against Martin Brodeur in a 5-1 win over the Devils.

Aucoin played 11:47 against the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday, which was his first game in Washington this season.

Anyone else getting really annoyed with Backstrom? I know he had a nice assist last night, but overall he has just been pretty useless offensively (pretty good on the PK though) He has never had a stretch like this before.

IMO Backstrom is playing smart, two way hockey. Is he putting up points like last year,no. But most of the team isn't. As long as he keeps playing sound defensively and helps keep the puck out of the net, I know his offense will start to come. They are all getting familiar with a new style. Once they get the D down which seems to be happening, then they can start to do what comes natural to them at the other end of the ice. So im not worried at all.

no argument on shooting more...and well the PP that is a whole other story. Its a complete mess right now. At this point Id throw Knuble, Henricks, Ovi, Green and Carlson out there. Let Knuble and Hendricks screen the goalie and Green and Carlson fire with Ovi roaming for rebounds that pop further out. They need to make it much simpler. They keep trying the cross ice seam pass and that rarely works and the D just sits there knowing thats what they are going to try. Beyond frustrating to watch.

Not sure if anyone is healthy. The Bears play the baby pens in Pittsburgh tomorrow night. So he was sent down for that reason and also if he is up for 10 games straight he has to pass through waivers to go back down. The Caps dont want to expose him to waivers again. At least thats my guess as to why. He could get called up for the classic being that he's in Pittsburgh anyway.

I was actually thinking the same thing last night. That the Caps should start throwing out some combination of Hendricks, Beagle, Fehr(as he was playing great last night), Knuble, AGordon(who is now sent down) to win battles along the boards, and get in front of the net for screens, deflections, and rebounds(Fehr tipped a few shots and probably had the best chances on the PP).

I agree that having Carlson and Green on the points with Ovie roaming in the slot area simplifies the PP much more as the Caps then start taking quick shots and look for rebounds, tips, etc.

For the long haul, I think the Caps need a threatening left-handed shot for the PP. Because all the Caps good shooters are right-handed, all of the one-time passes come from the same side of the ice.

When the puck is on Ovie's side, the only threatening one time pass is to a player on the door step. No team is worried about him passing it to the slot(Backstrom's position) for a one-timer or to Green for a one-time. Having a good left-handed shot would make an Ovie pass more threatening and would likely create more room.

If Knuble had buried half his chances - hell, even a third - then Backie's #'s would be right up there where they usually are. I just don't see Knuble as a viable top-liner, at this point - not on a team with deep playoff aspirations, anyway.

I agree that Ovie needs to come off the point, and down low. It makes no sense, very few d-men in the league can keep up with him power-wise, or quickness-wise - never mind both. And he's just not a natural d-man, he's played up his entire life, pre-BB.

I hate to say it, but IMO Backstrom has been more of an anchor to the top line than Knuble. He is usually lagging far behind the play. Most of Knuble's missed scoring chances have come from passes (or shots) by Ovi, not Backstrom. Backstrom's not really creating good scoring chances at ES or on the PP. He has definitely been off this season.

Re: PP

BB has tried every personnel change to get it going. At times, Ovi has been down low, with Carlson and Green at the points. Hendricks has been in front of the net, BB has even had 3 rookies on the PP. At some point it's the system not the personnel.

I don't think it's 10 games straight for AGordon or Aucoin before needing waivers again...I think it's 10 games period. Don't know how many AG has played but Aucoin is just the one. Besides they can get sent down today and recalled Saturday. It saves the club three days pay on AG since he will get the $500/day AHL salary rather than the $2700/day NHL salary. Aucoin I think is straight NHL salary either way. His contract and Collins were pretty much a waste. Not Nylander kinda waste but waste.

Andrew Gordon has played 8 games. If he plays two more, I believe, the Caps must keep him all year or expose him again to waivers if he is sent down. And I don't think the rule is where you can play him 8 games, send him to Hershey for one, then bring him back to DC and have that ten-game clock start all over. Pretty sure it's just ten games total. Also he's a RFA at the end of the year so he is still under team control until whenever he turns 27 before July 1st of that year. He's too valuable to just give away, so they will be cautious on his time.

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